#i think i saw them both as demiromantic so they just. worked. to me

[spinnysocks]

heyo spinny!! whats some of your favourite tlg ships? or just any you like in general

EHEHEHE rubbing my hands together. evilly. hehehe

well, kiburi is my pathetic wet cat blorbo and i happen to love all the crackships for him. kiburi x makuu? funny as fuck. kiburi x ushari? love them in nikki's pirate au they keep me up at night. kiburi x janja? the outlands brotp ever. my favourite character's stupid ships my beloved yknow?

in terms of other ships: reirei x goigoi obviously. baobabfruit ofc (thanks to you :] /pos). jasiri x kion because yeah. and as you could never tell (/sarc) i love poly ships so banzai x shenzi x ed, tano x nne x madoa, & kiara x tiifu x zuri are ones i really enjoy too. oh and i'll say timon x pumbaa too since they were my first tlk ship i suppose :]

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

I think another reason why I get rather annoyed when people hate on ToA Apollo is because how hypocritical their criticisms are.

I just saw a post talking about how great it is that Annabeth gets to show a lot of emotion, especially by crying. I also recall moments where she got frustrated or angry, and I found myself absolutely agreeing!

But then my thoughts turned to Apollo, another character who shows a lot of emotion.

But you know what he’s called for being frustrated, or upset, or for crying?

Whiny. He’s called whiny.

Apollo gets frustrated when he’s unable to perform something (archery) he used to be extremely good at. He’s upset that he can no longer use a bow correctly.

And people call him whiny for that. Apparently, those people have never experienced, let alone heard of The Gifted-Kid, something all Gifted-Kids (hello, tis me, Gifted-Kid since 4th grade RIP) can relate to Apollo over.

You were really good at something but all of a sudden you can no longer perform it as well? You’re not hitting your usual mark?

Well too bad, according to the fan base, you should shut up and not be so awfully whiny! It’s just archery!

(That was obviously in jest but you get my point.)

Additionally, Apollo never complains about important things. He complains about having to walk, but not the injury that’s literally turning him into a zombie and physically tormenting him.

That post really made me think about this, and then I asked myself; “Why? Why are people’s thoughts so different on Annabeth v Apollo showing emotion?”

It became apparent rather quickly, if you ask me.

Annabeth is a woman. Of course she should be able to show emotion! also maybe deep-seated sexism of ‘women are emotional’

Apollo is a man. And God forbid men show emotion I guess smh so also sexism

Because think about it. How many of the RRVerse male protagonists were allowed to cry? To be fully, and undeniably, upset?

I can only remember Frank crying on the plane after his grandmother’s presumed death, and Grover sniffling/getting teary-eyed in PJO. I don’t recall Percy, Jason, Leo, or Nico ever crying, or really having powerful bursts of emotion.

Yes, yes, Percy and Nico have both gotten mad and unleashed their fury upon someone, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about letting them feel, letting them be emotional.

Not a burst of anger. But real, genuine character-driven emotion.

The fact that I can only name Frank and Grover from the previous two series is truly saddening.

Apollo gets to feel. To let his emotions flow freely. He whines, yes, but he also gets frustrated, he gets upset, and most of all he cries.

That all makes him a real character, someone people can relate to.

I’ll admit I’m a rather emotional person too. I have a quick temper, and more often than not the water-works come on real quick when I get upset. It’s a normal emotional response, but it can be difficult to work with, especially when you’re trying to stay calm.

Apollo is the first RRVerse protagonist to be allowed to have feelings— strong ones, even. And I can relate to that. There’s a reason why Apollo, Reyna, and Annabeth are all favorites of mine, and that’s because I see myself in them.

Annabeth is prideful. I can be too. She gets obsessed over her work. I do that too. Hates spiders? Oh hell yeah.

Reyna gave me someone to connect with over my sexuality. Ignore that Rick mixed what aro and ace are for a moment please She really gave my demiromantic self somebody to relate with, because the lack of aro rep is criminal. and no the Hunters are not aro rep

Apollo is emotional. He’s made mistakes and wants to do better.

Who wouldn’t see themselves in him? I certainly do.

And yet, he gets called whiny for having the literal rug pulled out from under him again and again, and he doesn’t even let himself complain over what he should, absolutely complain about!

Idk. I think there’s a lot to be said about how this fandom treats emotional characters, especially based on gender.

I guess this is all to say don’t judge a fictional character, because you’re judging a real person too.

And real people have feelings, you know.

[mythbringer-mayhem]

GODDAMNIT

man, I was just scrolling and now I'm a goddamn Raidioapple shipper what the FUCK

Ok ok-

And now I'm going to elaborate just because.

I was expecting someone out there to ship Lucifer and Alastor the second I heard Hell's Greatest Dad. I mean- two people singing/arguing over being father figures? Sounds gay to me /pos. The internet sure does love it's enemies to lovers (me included. I'm hopless lmao.)

BUT. I have specifics for this ship.

I hate it when people just look at Alastor's aromanticism/asexuallity and just go "nah. I'm just gonna do it anyways." I used to headcanon Alastor as complete aroace in the sense that he just can't feel that way for someone (this is not meant to sound like "oh he can't love anyone :( he's incapable" I mean specifically a romantic/sexual relationship.) Then fucking short ass king of hell arrives, and Alastor just IMMEDIATELY chooses violence.

I didn't think much of that besides "oh that's a little interesting," and then I stumbled across Radioapple and had to take a double take. My brain needed to figure out how that would work, like how it would start, flourish, ineract, yadda yadda-

.....so now I consider Alastor Demiromantic-

(I'm still goddamn writing jeez-)

Read on if you like random people looking wayyyyyy too much into fictional characters.

Headcanon timeeeeeeeee

When Lucifer and Alastor first meet, Alastor is surprised Lucifer doesn't know who he is. Up to this point, everyone knows about the terrifying radio demon, so it must be a little weird for someone to be completely ignorant to his existence. Especially when that person should probably know the ins and outs of what's going on- ....because he's the fucking king of hell.

This is something new for Alastor. It made him curious. When you're curious, you try to learn more right? So, Alastor starts pushing Lucifer's buttons, seeing how he reacts. On Lucifer's end, Alastor's just being a smug asshole. However his true intentions are information on the esteemed oh-so-powerful king of hell. Maybe Alastor doesn't quite know where this fascination comes from, but regardless he wants to learn more. I can picture him progressively bothering Lucifer more and more (this is his unique way of getting to know him semi-discreetly)

As well as figuring out what ticks him off, Alastor would also probably passively learn things Lucifer likes. For instance, he finds out what Lucifer's favorite alcoholic drink is or something- bare with me- Let’s say Lucifer has a rough day, and it's very clear to everyone in the hotel. While he's frustrated in his own room, he hears a knock at the door. Answering it, he finds his aforementioned favorite drink. At this point, he wouldn't know who left it. But after a while, he'd be able to figure out it's Alastor through process of elimination. (This is inspired by a comic I saw! :))

Now we've got Alastor trying to discreetly be kind to Lucifer, and Lucifer is aware without his knowledge. And Lucifer would call him out for it lmao. Slowly, they'd start acting friendlier towards each other. It would take a long, long time though. The slowest slow burn of them all. They'd hang out more, do things, kick angel ass, have friendly banter, do stuff with Charlie. Untill Alastor finally realizes that he might have a crush on Lucifer. Though, I feel he'd take a while to fully figure that out, do some soul searching, maybe go to Rosie for advice.

Then they'd confess. Or they wouldn't lol. I can totally see them going on what is essentially a date, even though they just consider it "hanging out". It would be a quiet relationship. Something you'd miss if you aren't looking for it, but it is there. They both just need someone they can rest with in my opinion.

These ideas are probably sporadic and nonsensical- but I ✨️don't care✨️ I just needed to rant about the old timey deer man and the short depressed apple gremlin.

[cherrryxx]

I think your writing style si wonderful! If you're willing, I'd like yo request somethingfirm Smoker from One Piece, anything would be nice! Even if You don't write about it, I appreciate You reading My request. And keep writing, You do it amazing!

I'm writing this with Google Translate, so please excuse any translation errors.

Thank you so much! I personally love smoker so this request is something I’d love to write 🩷

How it Begins

SMOKER X M!READER HCS

Warnings: marine reader, m!reader, Smoker is in de nile, reader is a little dumb but cocky at the same time, relationship headcannons, sexuality headcannons

- Definitely took this man forever to even admit his feelings

- Before you officially got together, it was obvious to almost everyone (except himself) that he had feelings for you

- if you pointed out his soft spot for you it was rewarded with an extra week of chores and a “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about kid.”

- Which has landed you with a total of two months of excess chores at some point, mostly because you kept being insistent on it:

“Admit it, you like me captain!” You jeer, leaning back in your chair across from Smoker.

“F’ ya don’t shut up I’m giving you a month of extra work.” He growled, gripping his drink. But you got a little cocky, grinning when you noticed how his face was slightly tinted pink.

“Sureee,” you cackle, “That’s why you freaked out last week when I had to go to the infirmary for a *broken leg*.” You raise an eyebrow, “Which wasn’t even broken, just hurt like hell. Wasn’t even bleeding and you acted all like I was dyin’”

Smoker slammed his drink down on the table, earning a surprised look from nearby marines. “That was only because you act all dramatic, ya idiot. How was I supposed to know you weren’t dyin when you howled like you’ve been stabbed!” He retorted, but when he saw your unconvinced face he huffed.

“Get out of my face. You have an extra month of mopping the deck for being a nuisance.”

When you argued he added another week, which turned into another whole month as you continued to protest.

- Smoker did actually admit his feelings once he thought it was his last chance

- AKA you were both on the battlefield and he thought you were going to die. But once you recovered in the hospital and reminded him of his confession, he told you (unseriously) that he wished you stayed in the coma

- needless to say after a lonnnnggggg discussion about feelings, and a minor talk about the fact that Smoker hasn’t had romantic feelings for a man before:

- After you and Smoker grew closer he was comfortable enough to reveal that he felt that he was simply unlabeled or demiromantic.

“I guess, I don’t know. I just like someone, not in specific ways, I feel like it’s just a click.” He said, sitting on the edge of his bed as he spoke to you.

You sigh and sit next to him, “I don’t know why you’re all worked up about this. You don’t owe me an answer, or anything about that.” You assure him.

- After some time the two of you became more physically affectionate, to the notice of other marines

- But, if any of them were to even attempt say anything he’d give them a glare sharp enough to cut up any words they might have to say

- He was more loving with you behind closed doors, once work was done for the day and he could have you to himself in your (now shared) bunk.

- Smoker loved when he could wrap his arms around you with no one else to see

[aspec-mafia-official]

"If it's normal, then why do you need to celebrate it?"

The above quote is something I've seen many times as a "gotcha" for queer folk trying to celebrate pride month, and also as a genuine question from uninformed allocishets. I have personally received this question multiple times both as an act of aphobia and genuine confusion. So, why is pride necessary (aspec edition!)?

As an asexual and aromantic person, I very rarely see people like me in the real world and in media. In fact, just now I can think of maybe five canonically asexual characters, and two canonically aromantic ones (both of them, by the way, are also asexual. We need aroallo rep as well!!!) When it comes to real life, I know 2 other asexuals, with myself being the only aromantic. (Of course this is excluding people I've only interacted with online, if I included them the numbers would be much higher.)

That lack of representation means that many aspecs feel outcast growing up, knowing there's something "wrong" or "broken" about them (there is NOT, for the record) but being unable to pinpoint why. I was one of the lucky ones who had chronically online and queer friends from an early age who introduced me to the terms many years before I ended up discovering myself, but that is far from the norm.

We also very rarely see aspec flags in pride merch! Even during pride month, I find myself having to scour the stalls for anything asexual, let alone aromantic or even aroace (and if you're somewhere more nuanced on either spectrum, just forget it. Demis might get lucky occasionally (and of course demisexual is more common than demiromantic in my experience), but everything else is nothing.) In fact, there have been times where I saw very niche microlabel flags I didn't even know the name of, but not one aspec flag!

I will never forget the year I went to a pride parade and there was a stall selling flag jewelry. They had a bunch of flags, including asexual and aromantic (the latter of which I bought). I was naturally extremely excited, and the person working the register gave me a business card and a paper with an etsy discount code (unfortunately I lost it so I can't tell you the brand, sorry!!) Later I was passing a group and overheard someone lamenting to their friends about the lack of asexual related anything. I instantly stopped them, directed them to the stall, and gave them the etsy code paper (not really on purpose it was just the closest one in my bag but I figured they would get more use out of it anyways). The look of pure joy on that person's face will never leave my brain. I thought they might cry in front of me at the idea of someone representing their identity at a massive event.

This is why pride is so important. Seeing yourself represented and being told in no uncertain terms that you aren't alone means more than could ever be described, though I hope I managed to do it some form of justice <2

Happy pride, everyone!

[polycraftory]

Dragon Falls (How to Tame a Husband) by Davis Lavender

Reviewed by Meghan 💜

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5 | 🌶️🌶️ 2/5

GENRE: Cozy Portal Fantasy REP: mlm, achillean demi male mc, gay male mc, queer scs CW: mentions of cheating, manipulation, minor injuries LENGTH: 357 pgs

If you are looking for a sweet and funny gay romcom in a fantasy setting, I highly recommend this book! It manages to deliver an interesting isekai / transmigration narrative with a cast of incredibly lovable characters. This is exactly the sort of novel I had wanted when I was growing up looking for queer romance in a fantasy setting. Added to that just a little bit of spice and a whole lot of humor. It's technically an adult novel, but it's a lighthearted one that is also light on the smut. Also, I desperately want this to be a new au setting so fanfic writers please read this. Overall, this is a delightful indie book that I am very glad I got. I really love this Rainbow Crate @rainbowcrate edition from their Cozy Fantasy box.

Below the cut you can find my full review! You can find more reviews like this on my Storygraph or in our "meghan reviews" tag. Check out our pinned post for links!

If you want to avoid spoilers skip the section labeled "The End".

The Main Characters / Core Romance Feliks is an incredibly relatable and very sweet ADHD hot mess. He isn't explicitly neurodivergent, but the way he describes his "brain squirrels" and the everything else about him was deeply relatable to me (my whole household is some flavor of neurodivergent). He is an absolute ray of sunshine, and he gets isekai-ed into a dragon riding warlord with the Ruthless as his moniker. It is incredibly funny to watch him try to do damage control on all the awful things that the old Ryszard did. To differentiate them both in the narrative and for the reader, Feliks has people start to call him Rys. I found him absolutely charming, even though he so often speaks before thinking and puts his foot in his mouth. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him win over everyone, including his husband. Also! He's demisexual and demiromantic! I have literally never read a book before where I saw myself represented like that! It was honestly so wonderful and validating even though its inclusion is very subtle.

Marek is a classic and wonderful example of the grumpy half of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic. He has incredibly good reasons not to trust his husband, who reappeared after being presumed dead for two years. Yet, he can't resist Rys' charm no matter how much he doesn't trust his husband's new polar opposite personality. From his best friend Kasia to the denhands he teaches, I enjoyed how much he cares for everyone despite being so very grumpy. I feel like that personality type tends to be portrayed as a loner, but Marek is at the heart of his community and they all adore him. The relationship between him and his dragon is also incredible, and there is quite a lot of humor in how infuriated he is that his dragon suddenly adores his husband who used to treat them both horribly. Rys calls their dragon Honey Bunny despite there being a Whole Thing (TM) about Dragons not being owned and therefore not being named. It does not at all infuriate Marek that his dragon now only responds to Bunny! Don't be ridiculous!

Their dynamic is everything you'd expect from this sort of grumpy/sunshine pair up, especially with the added component of Rys often saying exactly the wrong thing to Marek since he doesn't know their theoretically "shared" history from before he transmigrated into the story. Rys has absolutely no knowledge of the plot or world he gets thrown into at all, so it leads to quite a lot of unintentional hurt. Still, they have an incredibly sweet romance and both work hard for their happily ever after. For me, this was a very low spice book but I didn't come here for that.

The Worldbuilding I had to give this it's own section because the worldbuilding is so fun and I want people to immediately adopt this as a new fun AU setting for fanfiction. Only nobility can become Dragon Riders. In order to be a Rider, you have to court and marry yourself a Dragon Tamer. Each Tamer has one Dragon that they tame and train. Tamers can be anyone who earns the position, and they often start out as Denhands (basically, like, squires; they help with upkeep around the Den and help care for your dragon). Denhands get adopted by a Tamer and a Rider, so their entire family structure is based around the dragon riding system and I just think that's such a fun build! Once a Tamer and Rider get married, the Rider starts to bond with their dragon and learns how to ride. Once you are done training as a Rider, you have your final test which is the Claiming Ceremony. You take a leap of faith off the cliff and if your dragon catches you, you are a fully fledged Rider. If they don't, well, you fall to your death. Womp womp. Until their Claiming Ceremony, Tamers must protect their Riders from all harm so you get an extra layer of bodyguard romance. Seriously, I need this as an AU setting for every ship I've ever seen immediately. The Plot Very straightforward! Rys thinks his only way back to his world is to survive till his claiming ceremony so he can reuse the whistle at the top of the Falls to reopen the portal. Most of the narrative is a combo of the training leading up to the ceremony, the building romance, and Rys figuring out how to be a good husband (and father lol they adopt a kid. Damon/Demon I adore you). You also see Rys unravel all the harm the character he took over did to all the people of this training camp and home city. It has plenty of found family vibes, and honestly I loved the whole main cast. Overall, this was a very lighthearted plot even though murder / being trapped in another world / falling to his death were all theoretically on the table. The humorous tone keeps the plot from getting dark or serious. It has a good pace and was exactly the right amount of plot based on what I was expecting, which is basically a romcom in a fantasy setting.

The End Spoilers time! It almost goes without saying, but this is a nice, easy, unequivocal happily ever after. I was pleased that there was still plenty of book left after the climax. We got a really nice falling action with the main characters getting together and figuring out how to stay together. Also, this nicely side-stepped any of the usual portal fantasy or transmigration angst from having to choose between returning to their world and staying with their love interest. Feliks/Rys gets to have the best of both worlds since he has a portal he can open and close with the whistle reforged. I do wish we got to see Marek meet his brother and mother, I am dying to know how that went. Also, my edition had a nice little bonus story, The Trouble With Tybald, about two of the side characters getting together as well as a closer peek at the side romance between Demon (Rys and Marek's son) and the son of the bartender. It was a fun little surprise snack at the end, even though the bonus content wasn't for the main couple!

[lover-of-mine]

hi i saw one of your tags that said you're not a gay eddie truther and i was curious to know if there's a sexuality you headcanon him as or just queer

Okay, so, I have complicated thoughts about Eddie and sexuality. I will preface this by saying that I do not care anymore, anything that ends with Eddie out of the closet and with Buck is good enough for me right now, I just want him out. That being said I'm a keep Eddie unlabeled or just queer type person. I think the show has given us enough to argue Eddie as both in the ace and the aro spectrum, I'm demiromantic so maybe there's a level of projection there, and I know you can be gay and demisexual, that those are not mutually exclusive, but I think Eddie has an issue with the concept of romantic love the same way he has a complicated relationship with attraction. I think the idea that he is somewhere in the demi category makes sense even with the way he needs to reevaluate his relationship with Marisol when he learns something new about her and feels like he doesn't know her because she hid that part of herself. I mostly exist in a land where Eddie kinda just goes "well, I love Shannon then, I love Buck now, do I have to be something" and stay there. Because the show did make a point of the way Eddie loved Shannon and even if we were to consider the possibility that he was not in love with her/attracted to her (which I think is wrong, the sex worked and he thought he was in love with her) Eddie will never know that for sure because she died before he could figure himself out as queer and she died with him believing he loved her. Ideally, I'd have him as demisexual and confirmation that Shannon was his best friend before but I don't trust the show to handle a demi arc correctly tho, so "queer" is the thing for me. I just think the show made too much of a point about Eddie loving Shannon for them to turn around and say he's strictly gay and for that to fly with the general audience, so I don't see them going that way, I don't think that would be the end goal.

[wolfsbanesparks]

What's your favorite fic that you'll never post (doesn't necessarily have to have been written)

What an awesome question!

(not me saving this as a draft and thinking I already answered)

Now i don't want to say never, but there are a few story ideas that I've come up with that I love but am hesitant to write/post, mostly because I'm not sure if people would want to read it (and because they would be a little more controversial and I'd rather not deal with people's opinions on that)

One idea that immediately came to mind when I saw this ask that I have plotted out and go back to more often than I want to admit is a Pretty Woman esque AU. Basically the premise would be that Damian Wayne (~18) is struggling with his sexuality (asexual, gay and demiromantic) and decides that the best way to get everyone (friends, family, the press) to stop making sly teasing comments about his love life (or rather lack thereof) would be to get together with someone (a girl in particular because he's working through some things), drag them on a few dates, and maybe figure out why everyone is so obsessed with sex by trying it out himself.

Cue Billy. He's working two jobs and still broke, living in a terrible apartment and trying to scrape enough money together to go to community college. He meets Damian under less than ideal circumstances and finds himself accepting his offer to be his fake girlfriend (because he may be trans but he is willing to wear a dress in exchange for the hefty sum of money Damian was offering--also Damian doesn't initially realize Billy is trans).

Together they have to convince everyone (including the entire Batfamily) that they are an actual couple--which has the unintended consequence of everyone being very concerned about Billy's safety and his penchant for getting into trouble.

Crucially they are both still heroes (unbeknownst to each other) and won't get together in a traditional way (maybe a QPR, but I'm not sure). Also there's just a silly idea that Billy manages to charm everyone, while Damian gets lots of (not necessarily good) dating advice.

It would be a fun exploration of queer identity, gender, relationship expectations, class differences, as well as an excellent way to showcase Billy being badass as himself.

The main thing stopping me from writing/posting it is that it involves a lot more explicit content concerning sex and sexuality (and sex work), and that Billy would be misgendered throughout a good chunk of the story and I know that my usual readers might not be comfortable with that.

[the-river-rix]

for the hyperfix ask!

📃 for spies are forever

🎥 💕🏳️‍🌈💎 for bones

Oh boy!! :D

📃(SAF)- (exploding many times) I’m going to try and keep this most vague and spoiler free because I’m assuming from the nature of the ask you have not seen SAF and I hope you do

Spies Are Forever is a satirical spy comedy musical about Agent Curt Mega (played by Curt Mega). While it is a comedy the show is extremely tragic and touching in a way that has haunted me since I first saw it several years ago. It both parodies and subverts spy movie tropes, and subtly bakes historical context and Cold War politics into the foundation of the show. It’s also extremely and undeniably queer. I guess I’ll take a vague non spoilery plot description from the creators (the Tin Can Bros) themselves: Agent Curt Mega finds himself thrust into the shadows of Cold War politics as he works to foil a plot to rebuild the Nazi empire. Along the way, Agent Mega must tango with a Russian femme fatale, waltz around a black market arms dealer, and samba through a horde of outrageous characters.

🎥- I adore many many scenes the ones that haunt me the most/I think about the most are the ending scene of Mayhem On A Cross, the scene with Hodgela after Brennan and Hodgins almost get buried alive, the interrogation where Booth hits the abusive dad in the Signs In the Silence, the scene between Sweets and Caroline Julian in The Bullet in the Brain, the “people lie but bones always tell the truth” scene in the signs in the silence, the reveal that Zack was Gormogon’s apprentice, the reveal that he didn’t kill anyone (rare Zack Sweets interaction) and the dance party Sweets Booth and Brennan have (I’m capping it here I just really love so many scenes- can u tell I love angst)

💕- Because I’ve talked about Zack a lot (incessantly) I’ll talk more about my #2 Blorbo Dr. Lance Sweets! I love Sweets so much he’s so silly and dear to me. My feelings about him are much less articulate and thought out than Zack but he’s just so endearing and entertaining. Like he’s such a goober. I’m fascinated by the implications and importance of him being a psychologist. I love the way his history of trauma is written and acted it’s really important to me for personal reasons. He is also such a vital figure in a lot of the characters lives and just Aughh. Idk I wish I had more articulate thoughts to add other than just incoherent screaming and love

🏳️‍🌈- aughh I have so many hcs that are important to me and I’ve talked about a lot of them so I won’t go super in depth and I’ll pick a few that are most dear to me:

Zack: autism (barely a hc), CPTSD, chronic pain- gay, trans, demiromantic

Sweets: autism, CPTSD- trans, bisexual

Brennan- autistic (again barely a hc), Cptsd- mostly unlabeled but trust and believe she is queer when it comes to both gender and sexuality

Hodgins- audhd ptsd- nonbinary transmasc and bi

Cam- omnisexual (I feel so strongly about this do not ask why I do not know)

Daisy- audhd BPD dyspraxia- sapphic demigirl

Arastoo- PTSD DPDR- pansexual

Fisher- autism depression (which is obviously canon)- aromantic omnisexual demiboy (he/they/it)

Vincent- audhd- trans, gay (but I also think he’s very repressed)

Caroline Julian- lesbian‼️ she is such a lesbian to me it’s insane

💎- Despite playing the youngest character Eric Millegan was the oldest actor in the main cast when Bones started filming

Ty for the ask this was very fun

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

hello! i saw that your matchups were open and I was wondering if i could get a matchup for mha and jjk if thats possible?

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: demiromantic/demisexual (i dont have a gender preference)

Zodiac: Leo

MBTI: INFP

I'm a night owl

Ambivert :D

Looks: I have dark brown eyes that get lighter depending on the lighting, dark brown hair which is just past my shoulders and I wear glasses. I usually dress in more comfortable attire, things just sweatshirts, sweatpants and sweaters. I'm about 5'3 so kinda short-

Personality: At heart I'm a more go with the flow type of person, matching the energy of the people around me but if they're low energy I have just a bit more than them in some scenarios. I can be extremely chaotic and do/say the most out of pocket things out of nowhere which tends to shock people quite a bit.

I hyperfixate on random stuff, cats, movies, books, I can't really control it sometimes and it gets a little out of hand at times, to the point where I'm constantly thinking about that certain thing.

Dark and sarcastic humor is my kinda humor. I'm also extremely sarcastic towards thoughs I care about and will call them 'idiots' as a sort of love language, whether it be platonic or romantic.

All that being said though I do have anger issues. It happens at random times and over things that I can't really control in particular, half of the time even i don't know why I'm mad. But when I get mad I have two responses, get extremely argumentative and aggressive or respond to everything with apathy even things that have nothing to do with what I'm mad about. I'm trynna work on it though.

Likes: Cats, animals, coffee, binge watching tv shows and movies, hanging out with friends, caffeine, sleeping, the color purple and black, stuffed animals, soft things, and art

Dislikes: Bugs, dirt, people who act high and mighty, seafood, mushrooms, not getting something immediately, math, being interrupted when I'm doing something and trolls on the internet

Hobbies: Hanging out with friends, watching tv, art, analyzing movies and shows, swimming, working out and martial arts

if you want to request a matchup from me (so like an exchange) I have an account called eternalwritess or you can just message this one :D

Hi! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took a while. I hope you like your matchups!

In My Hero Academia, I match you with...

You and Nejire both match the energy of a room and while that can be good, it can also lead to some very chaotic moments. It’s always good fun though.

But no matter how out of hand things get, she will always make sure you can say what you want or need to. She hates being interrupted as well so always goes out of her way to make she it doesn’t happen to other people,

Every time Nejire’s out alone or with friends and sees a stuffed animal you don’t have, she’s going to send you a picture asking if you want her to get it for you. She’s a gift giver and loves being able to get you things you like.

She loves hanging out with her friends and would be delighted if you are friends with the same people or are willing to hang out with the same crowd. It just makes everything more fun with you around as well.

You’d do so much binge watching together.  Since she doesn’t get a lot of downtime with her hero training, she combines working out with watching the latest show you’ve recommended. It’s a good way to pass the time.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, I match you with...

You and Megumi are the sarcastic couple of the friend group. No one can stand in your way, even Gojo has to bow to your power.

At the same time, you do also both struggle with anger issues. Hopefully you can help calm each other down when needed and fuel the fire when you’re in battle. It can be a really helpful thing to know.

Coffee dates are a must. Megumi definitely strikes me a caffeine addict, so he knows all the best places around town to get good, cheap coffee. He also knows your order by heart.

I think he’s also enjoy working out and training with you. He’d love to learn some martial arts from you as well. Anything you can teach him will help in battle and he’ll more than happily return the favour.

Since you dislike dirt and bugs, Megumi’s more than willing to help keep your place neat and tidy. He’s not a huge fan of mess either and will happily get rid of any bugs for you.

[yanderelmk]

Hello there!! I saw the form for matchmaking and I decided to do one :DD

~ I'll go by Lotus for this form ☺️

~ I don't have a preference when it comes to gender, and I'm poly! I'm demisexual and demiromantic though, and prefer my partners a bit on the smart side (I think there's a term for that?? But I don't know). I also use they/she pronouns

~ I really love to write, although my motivation for that lately has been non-existent. I also like mythology, history, and comedy! I'm also my online friend groups resident 'heres 20 memes and 5 picrews' friend. I use a lot of emojis when typing (💜😊😅💕💖). I'd like to get better at cooking but I have more things to focus on at the moment.

~ I'm the designated therapy friend, and I mostly express affection through physical touch or acts of service. I'd love to be able to wake up with cuddles and then make my partner breakfast 💕

~ I hateeeeee spiders and bugs. I just can't stand them. If one gets on me I will scream and begin to flail around. I also don't really like math, my brain just isn't wired to do it.

(Thank you so much for doing this!! Reading whatever you post helps brighten my day 💜💜)

~💜💫

OK hear me out: Red Son and MK. Don't worry MK's scared of spiders too you can both leap on the table like Shaggy & Scooby Doo while screaming for Red Son to kill it. Which she will do. And call you both dumbasses in the process. Red Son was actually alive for a good part of the JTTW story, he can tell you what the time period was like in accurate detail and probably even show you some things he has left over (this would be great for both the mythological and historical interests!) You can't tell me MK isn't cripplingly bad at math. Hand him the quadratic formula he will look up at you with big goopy eyes and ask "What did I do to deserve this?" MK (and Red Son even if he'd rather die before admit it) really loves snuggling up to someone, oftentimes casually going over to sit someone in their lap or just sitting in someone's lap like this is an everyday occurrence. Oh, and head scratchies are absolutely appreciated. Perhaps even mandatory. I imagine MK appreciates the acts of service because he can be very disorganized and scattered, so assistance with making sure he eats regular meals and cleans up his room would be deeply appreciated. Red Son might feel partially guilty about the acts of service, telling you "Such menial work is for the peasantry, let them take care of such trivial matters while we watch Her Highnesses Queen Trixie and Katya. I must take notes from them for how I am to one day rule the mortal realm."

[microwavedautism]

I need thoughts outta my head so headcannon time, yes they can date all tavs but shh lemme pretend ok?

Oh by the way all of them are Autistic now, sorry <3

Halsin. I think he wouldn't care for labels, just going with what 'nature intended' and feeling what he feels.. but because I find it funny I like to believe he's a bear, sometimes both physically but mostly just in the hairy gay man way. I do like the idea of him being slightly fatter but still ripped as fuck if that makes sense.

Astarion though, no abs, thin as fuck but still someone strong because vampire. Look, he said he was a magistrate when he was alive. Now idk what that means but it sounds fancy so I'm going to assume he wouldn't of worked out much. This is also assuming his body has stayed exactly the same as since he died. Also, biromantic Sex repulsed asexual but still does it because trauma :(

Gale is a tough one. One thing I know is he definitely has a good bit of fat on him, no abs of course, he's a wizard. I don't think books weigh that much. I saw someone say he was straight but questioning because he saw an attractive man and I feel like that works but it also doesn't? I think, with all the time he spent alone, he could've done some thinking and discovered his bisexuality.

I'm gonna say Wyll is bisexual because he flirts with Lae'zel alot in my playthrough but also.. Halsin. I feel like I've said enough :)

Karlach is bisexual Demiromantic. She will flirt and shit but will only fall as she gets to know you better. She is definitely tall and buff, I think everyone agrees on that.

Shadowheart is complicated. I don't really know her character too well but she definitely likes women. Something about when she threatened Lae'zel was gay even though it was murderous and hateful. Enemies to lovers vibe even though it won't happen. Also, idk if she chose her name or not but genderqueer. Nobody named Shadowheart gets to be cis.

Lae'zel. I haven't seen her romance route but she gives me bisexual aromantic vibes and I love it.

I feel like I'm forgetting some people. I won't talk about I think Minthara, Minsc or Jaheria cus I don't know them well enough, haven't even met one of them (I cannot remember if I got their names right lmao)

[coldshrugs]

1, 8, + 34 for io/estinien? 💕

tysm gigi!! 💗💗 these answers are off the rails a little bit but it's okay. maybe.

1. What, specifically, was the catalyst for their physical attraction (if applicable) to the other character? In other words, what in particular had them like “Oh, they’re...hot...”

Oh, interesting!

Io is demisexual, so what she finds attractive and when is usually a surprise for her. If someone moves or fights with confidence, that can be an easy trigger to noticing other things about them. Io really enjoys being battle buddies with Estinien, and their ranged/melee combo works well together. For her, this was a slow-build thing, and maybe she'd find herself staring as early as their first or second Thavnair visit. She's quick to avert her eyes, but easy to fluster, so she can only hope no one asks her about it 😂 She is incredibly weak for the times his voice gets quiet and soft, his hair that is never not in his eyes, and the way he looks at her.

I feel like Estinien probably thought Io was Hot TM back in HW but it was not a point in her favor lmao. It wasn't attraction then; instead it was like "oh of course the world is bending to your every whim. because you're pretty" with an eye roll. It was seeing her post-ShB for the first time that he was kind of struck by the tiniest little "oh, she's kind of cute" afterward. She looks so much happier and healthier than he's seen her in the last couple of years and she's smiling a lot. Very cute to him. And then during the long trip to Sharlayan, she asks him to train her with a lance, and their sudden recurring physical proximity just. Gets to him. He notices so many things about her appearance that he'd kind of glossed over before due to Friend Goggles (freckles?? everywhere?? and so much hair. and archery must pay because back muscles...). This is also when they both get pretty comfy sharing physical space, even platonically.

8. What do they think about romantic love? Do they have baggage surrounding it? Do they idealize it? Is it an object of longing and wanting, or were they really not thinking about it until they started falling for the other character? What are their expectations like?

Romantic love is something Io definitely wants in her life and, in the past, has wanted to an unhealthy degree due to unfortunate events. She's settled into a headspace of "It'd be nice, but I'm not exactly in a position to date like a normal person so we'll see what happens." She bases a lot of expectations on what she saw of her parents' relationship: gentle, warm, lots of laughter. Something steady and lived in. After her Zenos Spiral, she really didn't expect anyone to find her lovable? To have found it in the end is more precious than she feels she deserves sometimes.

To me, Estinien is demiromantic and does not often think about commitment, much less want it or seek it out. He's had situationships here and there during his knighthood, but nothing serious or long-term, and nothing public. Some of the other knights might've known of or seen people coming and going, but Dating TM was usually not what was happening. So when his attraction to Io comes with romantic feelings attached, he's a little thrown. It comes easily to him in some ways? Io is patient and gives him the space he needs to feel things out. And he has memories of his parents, too, sharing fond and loving moments. It's not foreign to him entirely, just not something he feels often.

(all of this is headcanon ofc, i feel the need to add a disclaimer lmao)

34. Under what circumstances would they feel protective?

Well. The short answer is "every circumstance." But more seriously, they trust and respect each other enough to feel sure the other is handling things in any given situation.

Obviously, life-threatening circumstances would cause both of them to get fighty with whatever threatens to harm the other. During times one of them gets injured, they have a stubborn bedside protector until they're better.

[vintage-bentley]

I've been a fan of GO since I was 12 (I'm now 28) and read the book so many times it fell apart as a teen - but for some reason, I never connected with the TV version. Just never vibed with it, can't explain why. Maybe because it was Terry Pratchett I always loved and his magic felt like it was missing from it, leaving mostly NG's influence (who I don't like but that's a long story). So I feel no excitement for series 2, and that kind of bums me out because 12 year old me loved it so much.

Are there many reasons to be excited for s2? Are you?

I’m unfortunately one of the people who saw the TV series first, then read the book, so I didn’t experience the sort of hesitance about the series somebody who came from the book might. I personally love the series, and also love the book! But I can see why you weren’t the biggest fan of the series. It definitely feels like it lost a bit of Terry’s touch. I’ve said before that this worries me for season 2, because at least with season 1 Neil was working with a complete book he’d written with Terry. Now he’s on his own. I mean, it sounds like they’ve had conversations about what a second book or season would entail…but that’s very different from actually writing it together.

Personally, I feel a whole lot of things about season 2. I feel excited, because I love the story and characters and want more. But I’m also very nervous, because it could easily go wrong. Sometimes things are best left alone…and season 1 ended on such a lovely note and had so much closure, that I’m not sure how a season 2 would fit into it. I do worry that this will be one of those cases of the sequel not being as good as the original, just because the original was so good.

And of course, I’m worried that the fandom’s homophobia that Neil has eagerly endorsed will seep its way into the show. But I’m hoping it won’t, because as much as I don’t like Neil, he seems to know how to draw a line between canon and headcanons. What it looks like to me, is he’s had his ideas set in stone for years, and is just agreeing with fandom to get clout. But his ideas are still his ideas and he won’t let them get changed by the fandom…both for creative reasons and legal reasons. So I hardly think he’ll be like “you know what, I didn’t even know what ‘asexual demiromantic genderfluid nonbinary’ meant until yesterday, but I’m going to have my characters come out as it in season 2! It’ll be great!”.

The fandom has been an issue for me for a while. They’re comically sexist and homophobic, and being a lesbian that means it’s just not the place for me. So I stay away from larger fandom as much as possible, because I have no interest in seeing “progressive” takes about why actually it’s bad for the two male characters to be in love, and why actually Crowley’s a woman if he has long hair.

But I wouldn’t let the fandom ruin your enjoyment of the show. Ultimately, it’s just the fandom. There’s so many things that are great but have insufferable fandoms…and it’s not a reflection on the work, but rather just a reflection of the people who are the loudest fans (which are always going to be young people since that’s who fandom is mainly populated by, and young people right now are caught up in gender ideology). Watching the show, then seeing what these fans think of it, really just shows you that they’re hardly fans of the show, and are more accurately fans of the story they’ve created in their heads that’s loosely inspired by the show. So try to disconnect the fandom from the show, because they’re entirely different.

The fact is, fandom’s always been insanely homophobic because it’s populated by straight women who fetishise gay men. It’s just now they’ve found a new way to be homophobic (gender ideology) and they’ve found a way to play with it (a show with non-human characters and a magic system). The fandom doesn’t say as much about GO as it does about fans eagerly waiting for the first opportunity to be homophobic.

I’d encourage you to hang around the gender critical corner of the fandom. It makes the experience so much more enjoyable when you know you’re safe from homophobia and sexism and general clownery.

I’m very excited to be able to watch the new season and be able to talk about it with people who I know won’t shun me for calling Crowley a “he” in a scene where he has long hair, and who I can trust to not be homophobic and not shut down my concerns about baiting because “it’s still queer!!! Shut up cis gay!!! Not everything’s about you!!!”.

In short, yes, I’m excited about season 2. More accurately, I’m cautiously optimistic. Because I know that whatever happens, it’s still more of something I love dearly, and that I’ll have people to gush about it to who I don’t have to be wary around.

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

Hey, I saw that last ask about romantic/platonic/sexual/aesthetic attraction and I wanted to ask a bit about something cause I felt... Deeply called out by that ask. I've been trying to figure out the same things for the past 2 years, with a hint of aromanticism thrown in just for good measure. I won't bother you with my confusion on sexual attraction because that is just a whole other can of snakes that I'm working through myself, but I've often questioned the romantic/platonic split.

For me I think your description of platonic is true, but also everything you said in romantic is too! I'd question if I was just in love with one of them but its with all my friends. I've had crushes in the past but I sometimes wonder if I really just wanted to be better friends with people I wasn't particularly close with, because at that time I was pretty certain I was ace. I find people attractive but I can't figure out if it's only aesthetically. When I compare my friendships to the ones I see around me and it is a lot more intense than I think a lot of other people are, but also my friends are a bunch of gay theatre kids so that type of friendship was always pretty normalized for all of us.

All this to say I thought I was just ace and heteroromantic, which was already complicated enough to explain to a lot of people, but now i don't know at all if I'm ace or demi or bisexual or pan or aromantic or a fun party mix of a few. I know it's okay to never totally know, but I'm 22 and it always feels like it wouldn't be fair to try and date someone now when I'm this unsure. But I also don't know how to be sure without trying to date someone. And I also just don't know how to date someone because I don't like going out and dating apps scare me. And I don't know why this is so scary to try and talk over with my friends, but the idea terrifies me, so here I am <3

Hi, darling. Sorry it took me a bit to respond to this. I'm once again going to answer this to the best of my ability, but the things I say might be incoherent or they might not help. Sexuality and attraction are very personal experiences. Everyone had a unique story. My story is not going to match with your story, or their story, or his story. Everyone is different, and that's the beauty of it.

Also, I'm 19. I'm still figuring this shit out. Everyone is. Hell, my mother didn't come out until she was 38 and she's still figuring it out, too.

There are thousands of identities you can play with. If you think you might be on the asexual spectrum, you might want to look up greysexuality. You might think about greyromanticism. Those are both very much on the aro/ace spectrum, but could fit for you. And you could also stack identities if you think it fits better. Someone could be a demiromantic, mostly sapphic, asexual person and that's a mouthful and a lot to explain, but if that is who they are, then that is how they should feel comfortable identifying themself.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: it is alright to just be. You don't need to put a label on something before you're ready. You don't need to put a label on something ever if you never find something that clicks. Just existing is enough. You don't owe a label to anyone unless you feel you owe one to yourself.

Age isn't a factor in this process. Keep that in mind. It does not matter if you are 22 or 92, you can still be figuring yourself out, and that's okay. It is a constant process. Sexuality is fluid and it always will be.

It isn't unfair to want a romantic or sexual relationship when you're unsure about your label. As long as you communicate with whoever you're engaging in that relationship with frequently and in a healthy way. You can always tell someone that you are unsure if you're looking for something serious, but you're open to it. The right person will come around and they'll love you regardless.

Dating apps can be anxiety provoking. Don't feel pressured to use one if you don't want to. I don't use them. My friends do, though, and they've had quite a few good experiences. Some of them even just made friends with matches that didn't work out.

All this to say: sexuality and romantic attraction are really fucking confusing. They always have been and they always will be. Take your time with it. Find people you trust and talk to them about it. Allow yourself the time to experiment with labels and relationships if that is what you want.

You don't owe anyone anything. The only person who gets to decide how and when you express your sexuality or romantic attraction is you.

this was probably incoherent. it's early. tell me if I said something confusing.

[probably-haven]

Hello!! After seeing what you wrote about xiaoven fics I went to see what things you usually write and omg, your archon Venti headcanons????? I am absolutely in love. So if it isn't annoying, could you talk about xiaoven or Venti or Xiao or whatever ship or character you like? I don't care what you are going to say, I just want to know more about your thoughts ^^

I- is this... bestie, this is essentially a free ramble pass- kerujsgheskdfug. Trust me when I say that in no way is this, and in no way will it ever be annoying in the slightest- i literally- lets just say rambling off thoughts is kind of my specialty, especially when provided a topic to branch off of because otherwise I'm just- really indecisive about it so- iujskdh yeah- 100% definitely down to talk about Venti, Xiao, and/or Xiaoven XD. Also, yes- it may have been awhile since i last posted one(cuz again, indecisive about which direction to take part 5), but the Archon War Era Venti headcanons are still without a doubt my favorite posts I've made. It's just such an interesting topic with such endless potential that so few people actually think about or consider or even realize is there, so i always just get really psyched whenever i see someone interact with them lol.

.... this ended up being a bit of a mess: warning in advance

Anyway! onto the actual content!

- You see the thing about Xiaoven is that there's a lot of different ways that it could end up working out, and just personally my favorite way of portraying Xiaoven in my mind is as an unlabeled relationship because if anyone in genshin would give off that vibe its these two. And a number of other reasons.

- Firstly, I heavily headcanon Venti as being an aroace polyplatonic or perhaps heavily demiromantic. However, regardless of this I just don't think that Venti is really the kind of person to worry about how he should label his feelings, thinking it's silly to try to put them in one box or the other, especially with feelings and emotions being as fluid as they are in general. Plus it fits his whole God of Freedom vibe. I just- dont think he's the biggest fan of labels or social categorization in general.

- And secondly on the hand of Xiao... his defense mechanisms are very much ingrained in his personality. It's probably hard enough for him to not go into fight or flight(the answer is fight) at the slightest affection at first, at the slightest feeling of vulnerability. Even further down the line, with his fierce dedication to Liyue, I cant help but get the vibe that the moment he recognized that he was falling for Venti he would begin avoiding him, not only to avoid distraction from his duty, but to avoid corrupting him or losing him in general like he has with like basically every other person he gets close with(even believing that the cycle had repeated once more when he first heard of Morax's death)... now imagine Venti tryna slap a label on their relationship and tell me Xiao would have a positive reaction.

- The thing with Xiaoven.... honestly, i feel like theres more ways that it can go wrong than it can go right, but if they do manage to make their relationship work out, it's just simply beautiful in all terms of the word.

- Lets talk about killing. - During the Archon War, both were forced to kill a large number of people and gods alike- Venti out of a need to remain alive to protect Mondstadt, it's freedom, and the nameless bard's legacy by extent- and Xiao out of servitude to the god that was once his master

..... actually- break here- ive talked a lot about Venti on this blog but I havent actually spoken about Xiao all that much- so i should probably do that a bit first... do note though that my characterization of Xiao is pretty flexible actually- this is just- the possible characterization of him that i tend to favor as being the most- uh- "realistically complex"

-

Theres a line I saw this one time in a certain story: "He is a trained weapon. That's what he is, was, and always will be. You cannot change that so stop trying." And i just- think its a really interesting concept- that applies pretty well to Xiao now that i actually think about it. - the concept behind it is this: After spending more than a vast majority of his life killing or otherwise in battle, it's become a part of who he is, a normalcy that after centuries and centuries would be near impossible to get rid of or reverse, and even if it was possible, with his karmic debt constantly eating away at him its unlikely he has enough time left for that to happen. - it sounds like a cruel thing to say about him- but in context it's actually pretty layered and i think about it a lot. It's not as much a "he's a killer lol, that his whole personality" its more of a "The centuries of trauma he experienced have conditioned him into a constantly alert and battle ready mindset while also shaping his dehumanizing inferior-in-worth-but-superior-in-capability view of himself that would have likely been necessary to get through those time, and at this point he's been under that conditioning for long enough that it's essentially ingrained itself in his personality."

- the main idea is- it's a part of who he is, that needs to be accepted as who he is because its not something that he can just up and change. It's not all he is of course but his constant battle mode, as though always waiting to be ambushed or to be granted a new target to eradicate.

a couple character story quotes:

-"His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins. The only way he could be of service to mortals was in combat." -"Xiao does not feel any hatred. Having lived for over two thousand years, no single karmic debt constitutes anything more than a fleeting memory. No grudge can last a thousand years; nor is any debt so great that it cannot be paid off in this time. Xiao has spent many long years alone. But his battles have never been in vain." -"where did Xiao have to return to? He was merely leaving the battlefield." -"since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage." -"The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end." -"Because ultimately, the one with whom Xiao wrestles is himself."

i feel like at some point this very nearly did consume his whole personality, almost turning him into nothing more than a being of slaughter under Morax's control, devoid of any "humanity" at all, consumed and corrupted by his karmic debt like his fellow yakshas before him. - until he experienced a moment of clarity- a song in the wind, the peaceful melody of a dihua flute. - and pulled back from the border of something he wouldnt have been able to return from, there a was a shift in his mind- a concept grown unfamiliar enough with time that it took him a great time to identify what it was; a curiosity. Something that there was no place for on the battlefield, something that by all means should have been completely useless to Xiao, and yet he held onto that curiosity, slowly regaining over time, a sense of who he was and who he could choose to be with each song that the wind chose to carry towards him every once in a blue moon.

and eventually that curiousity turned to longing. Longing "for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers"

...... uh- heh- if you couldn’t tell already i have a tendency to make my characterizations/analyses of characters more serious that i probably should. 

to summarize: Xiao is constantly toeing the line between his ingrained nature and his humanity- almost as though still trying to decide how much of that humanity he deserves to have, how much he is allowed to have, and how much is safe to have.

^looking back after writing this, i think the best way to explain it is that this is the view that i keep in mind/the lense that i tend to most enjoy looking through and refering back to while examining and/or analyzing his character, actions, story, lines, and overall personality.

idk- i kinda got off track but i just think its a really interesting interpretation to think about because it has some really interesting implications ig- it’s not the full extent of how i view him of course, but i kinda got ahead of myself and its long enough as is so ill just elaborate as i go- Lol i actually have in progress playlists for both him and venti and just- vibes- i could ramble about the playlists alone for hours explaining everything... It’s probably a problem- uh- ill keep going now lol.

anyways! stepping off the angst path for a brief break! Brought to you by their lines in the snow: both waiting for it to get thick enough, Venti for the purpose of a snowball fight and Xiao for the purpose of a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

but its actually something of note that Xiao doesnt actually need to eat so anything he does eat is usually out of obligation or enjoyment- so like.... snow.... like i dont blame him, but of all things- an adeptus who refuses to eat basically anything but almond tofu looks at the freezing-cold-floor-water that yeeted itself from above and decided at some point- damn- that seems more edible than basically ever single actually edible thing ever.... im gonna eat it- like- im glad if eating snow makes him happy but- at the same time...

He probably convinces Venti to eat snow too though and Venti wouldnt even resist I mean he’s wind and has probably consumed worse things in his time so- 2 anemo cryptids with glowing tattoos sitting in Dragonspine monching snow in the dead of night is an amusing thought to me.

- kay, now back to more serious-toned thoughts

One of the things about the ship that i really like is the different contradicting parallels between them:

A lot of how i view Xiao’s character is someone formed largely by the things he cant control and who was forced to accept that accepted that and learned to thrive in it as much as he can.  Venti on the other hand is surrounded by things he cant control and is ever adapting to control as much as he can while embracing whatever he cant as being part of the unpredictability of the world, seeing beauty in it. 

both of them have lost people and do what they do to honor their memory: Xiao continues to do what the Yakshas once did And Venti chooses to do what his friend couldn’t

Xiao’s power coming from himself  and Venti’s from others And both seem to appear to use their power for their own gain while truly helping others behind the scenes

both have killed a lot of people during the archon war Xiao views it as another necessary event out of his control and Venti would likely view it as a tragedy he chose to enact himself

and this is where we meet out balance

Xiao- contrary to how i think a lot of people view him as thinking of himself as a monster- seems canonically to have accepted this as part of his duty, as long as those he killed are not mortals. I dont think he enjoys it no- but someone has to do it and he’s just accepted that its a part of his duty Venti on the other hand-

See the beauty of the ship- as someone with an angst-centric mind- is this- these are two of the most traumatized mfers in the game 

Xiao is by far the one who needs the most help and who can serve to benefit most from the ship- but he is nowhere near self aware enough to recognize that there’s anything wrong or unhealthy about his mindset in the slightest-

whereas you have the contrast with Venti who sorted through most of his trauma with the nameless bard alone during the archon war and while the result appears more healthy- is still really not- but he’s not self aware of that either because i mean- who’s going to tell him? nobody even knows. 

however- venti is aware enough to notice flaws in Xiao’s mindset and “Venti” enough to want to help them through it-

Xiao- while not aware enough to recognize the flaws in Venti’s mindset, can recognize where it contrasts with his own, and is blunt enough to point it out- and then it’s out there to be mulled over- 

they’re so similar and yet so different and a feel just conversing between the two of them, being in each others precense, just being exposed to two mindsets that are so very different could do both of them a whole lot of good.

GEEE THAT BIT OF RAMBLING HAD LITTLE TO NO DIRECTION AT ALL- LET ME-- LET ME MAKE THIS START MAKING SENSE- WITH... DYNAMICS OR SOMETHING

I don’t think Xiao needs to sleep really- and i dont think that sleeping would do anything except make him uneasy at first- he’d probably just get nightmares after all he’s been through- but with Venti he would soon learn that it doesn’t have to be that way, lulled into the first peaceful sleep he’s had in... as long as he can remember.

anywho back to not making sense cuz im fickle and i think most questions about ships are best displayed through character interactions so like- a possible exchange thats cliche but cliches exist for a reason

Xiao: Why do you try so hard to help me, it isn’t easy. I know that much Venti, with the most adoring expression: Because you’re worth it, obviously Xiao: But surely there are others more deserving of- Venti: No Xiao, everyone is just as deserving as the next person, you included Xiao: Then why me above others? Venti: ehe, cuz ur my warrior of course [O//////O oh shit, hes right] Xiao: My contract is with Morax alone [gay panic but in broody yaksha]

it’s kinda difficult cuz neither of them really address their feelings.  I mean Venti does but he does it very indirectly and its rare that he ever does it with like- genuine directness- even spilling his backstory was in the form of a song- and told in the third person- so a lot of their interactions would often have some deeper meaning, especially with Venti being the bard he is. 

I come up with a lot of- errant thoughts about Xiaoven- but this is making me realize that a true analysis of their ship is rather difficult because it just encompasses so many dynamics so its hard to settle on just one and not go rambling about who knows what bouncing from one end of the ship to the other-  Because you truly can and thats the beauty of it

within one moment you can be having a heartfelt conversation about the archon war the impact of lost friends and times past, and the next moment Venti is trying to forcefeed Xiao an apple while Xiao screams about disrespecting the adepti and its just- so lovely

so while they have picnics with nothing but apples, dandelion wine, and almond tofu they can sit down and talk about the dreams Xiao once devoured, and the dandelion wine and apple cider that the first Ragnvindir invented from the plants that never could have grown in Old Mond. The foods that tasted of familiarity, or of the grilled ticker fish Pervases always used to eat, foods that tasted of friends and frankly family that had since passed, glaze lilies and cecilias and qingxin flowers scattered in the surroundings and woven into Xiao’s neat braids and Venti’s now messy ones, rebraided by the steady and inexperienced hands of one unused to gentle action. 

and then of course Venti steals Xiao’s tofu once the mood becomes too grim and replaces it with a bottle of wine that Xiao refers to as “vile poison,” a remark that fatally wounds Venti as he collapses on the floor, proclaiming how he can only be healed by a Yaksha’s kiss. Xiao ignores this of course and simply takes back his tofu with a slight smile on his face, but as Venti persists he soundlessly places a kiss on his own palm before intertwining their fingers and pulling him back up from where he was dramatically sprawled on the floor, grumbling about how such action was “unbecoming of an archon.” A sign of affection only Xiao would ever know about. But Venti is literally wind and I hc his senses work differently anyways so he definitely knows- plus Xiao’s face is red as the blood of his enemies and the way he is pointedly not looking at Venti at all really speaks volumes anyways. 

 -Venti playing epic battle music whenever Xiao goes into fights in what looks like a ridiculously extra performance to anyone else but is actually doing wonders to keep Xiao’s karma at bay

-Venti preaches the practice of “kissing wounds better” and Xiao is unfamiliar with this medical treatment but views it as unnecessary regardless because adepti have accelerated healing, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop him though. 

-Messages whispered on the wind

-Venti’s 1000 year sleep- an accident, not a fun time for the yaksha, and not a fun time for Venti once he woke up. Venti is actually more afraid of restful sleep than Xiao is, hence the sleeping in trees thing, but when Xiao is there, he can sleep restfully with faith that Xiao wont let another millennia slip through his fingertips. 

- Xiao tends to make excuses when doing things that aren’t necessary to his duty, like in his birthday voice line “Have this, it’s a butterfly i made from leaves... Okay. Take it. It’s an adepti amulet -- it staves off evil” because at the current point in his progress it helps him to feel like he’s allowed to do these things. Not wanting to put him off from progress, Venti never comments on his excuse but never fails to whisper a quick reminder of how proud he is of how far Xiao had come.

- Xiao’s karma saddens Venti greatly- not only because of how it effects Xiao but also because its a reminder that as much as Venti tries to honor the memory of those he’s killed, there will always be those who resent him for it, and when he took the option of living away from them, he truly can’t blame them. - And when he gets too wrapped up in thoughts, whether around this topic or similar ones or otherwise, eventually, he’ll hear the sound of a flute on the wind. It’s not divine by any means, but as his own wind connects him to the source, he gets the sentiment all the same. “What impact does one individual’s remaining wrath have on the present. You have done much to help the living in the present” the unspoken idea that Xiao has included himself in that statement, because now, with Venti’s help he’s beginning to learn just how to experience living for himself. 

- Venti’s form and Xiao’s mask are off limit topics though because if either mentions it the other will counter with the opposite and the mood will turn immediately bitter at the idea that both know that what they’re doing is destructive but neither are willing to change

- Venti who has different tells for negative feelings than most people because as much as he likes to pretend it is- this form isnt his, and Xiao who is able to identify those

- many fanfics and headcanons have Venti recognizing when Xiao is uncomfortable and getting him out of those situations. I see that and I love it but i raise you: - Venti taking Xiao to Mondstadt, careful that he doesn’t get to the point that he’s uncomfortable. And nothing goes wrong exactly, but Xiao notices the the way Venti’s cape is blowing in the wind, the way he’s holding his weight, barely on his feet so much as floating on the wind, connected with the ground only for the sake of appearance, all the while he looks just as happy go lucky as ever. And without a word, he grabs his hand and teleports them both out of Mondstadt.  - turns out it was just a slight thing that reminded him of the archon war (cuz i will die on the hill of him having more tragic backstory than just Decarabian), and he of course gives a sincere if not flustered thanks to Xiao, because he’s really not used to people noticing. 

- Venti trying to vent sneakily through fictional stories and Xiao is just like “Didn’t that basically happen to you” and Venti is just like “<_< shit”

- Venti once said affectionally that he wished he had met Xiao sooner and Xiao immediately and seriously shot it down by saying “If you had, I would have been forced to kill you” and both of them now stay up at night wondering who would have won that fight, not sure which result would have hurt more. (because honestly I have no idea who would win in that fight and that terrifies me- I like to think it would have been one of those legends that end with “and the fight persists to this day” or something along those lines)

- “How long have you been together?” “Adepti have no need for-” “1000+ years T^T how dare you deny our love” “O///O our...? ...useless”

- its disney- let me explain- i have this- i have this headcanon inspired by watching too many animatics- - so venti has a human form that isnt his- which he would have had to get used to moving in- and he’s a bard- - uh- anyway- as a third degree black belt in mixed martial arts, i can speak as an authority on this(not really an authority since i havent gone since quarantine but lets pretend). We have a thing referred to as the big three(most things do), and those things are martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. The idea is that they reflect really well off of each other and the best in any one category are good in all three. Timing, balance, form, discipline, technique, hand-eye coordination, grace, ease of motion, they all play a part- anyway-

- Venti taking Xiao’s prowess in martial arts and acrobatics and teaching him how to dance, and as someone who’s extremely skilled in the first two, the third comes easy to him, almost naturally. And it’s delicate and beautiful and lovely and it isn’t hurting anyone. And Venti points all these things out and more and despite how much Xiao insists that he feels ridiculous he truly does enjoy it and it goes a long way towards helping him form more healthy views of himself and his worth.  - Verr Goldett walked in on him once and made a joke about performing at the inn. unfortunately Venti was there and agreed on Xiao’s behalf before he could protest and- and it wasn’t as bad as Xiao thought it would be... he still wouldn’t do it again though without reason, but with good enough reasoning he could probably be convinced. 

- anyways point is he likes dancing to Venti’s songs and i just think that’s really cute - just picture the idea that all the animatics you see actually have the potential to be canon- ugh

- venti tries holding something out of Xiao’s reach since he’s taller and Xiao just fucking teleports 

- both need their space but when they dont, all they have to do is speak the other’s name and they’ll be there.

- and because i just had to.... love languages

- lets start with Xiao- i don’t think he’d view acts of service or quailty time as a love language tbh, and he blunt but really bad with words so affirmation is out, leaving gift giving and physical touch. However, he seems to view most material things as meaningless so- - Xiao who’s love language is in his fleeting touches, something he’s only recently grown comfortable with because of Venti, and now is giving back, which he knows he doesn’t have to do, but that he want’s to, though he’ll still continue to make excuses for each one. “you were shivering” “The inn is high up, you could have fallen..... I said what I said, you’d question an adeptus?”

- and as easy as it is to say words of affirmation for Venti- he does that for everyone- i want to say his is actually acts of service - its the acts of service that let him see just how much Xiao has progressed afterall, from teaching him to dance, to playing another song on the flute, to supplying him with the almond tofu he seems to enjoy so much. Every little thing he does helps Xiao to grow and he couldn’t be happier about that. 

-

- of course most of my headcanons for the ship do take place latter into the relationship because- y’know the less serious unhealthy vibes allow for greater range of thought, but i do still love to think about the serious implications so i kinda hopped back and forth. So sorry about how messy it is btw, i kinda- got carried away- it kinda got some kind of structure near the end tho so- maybe it’s okay. anyway- back to... lol something, we’ll see where thought forests lead.